Refugees are not like immigrants. They haven’t chosen to be where they’ve ended up. They didn’t have time to upgrade their skills, save their money, learn another language or pack all their favourites things before they fled.

The stark truth is that, in a more perfect world, most of the nearly 14 million refugees registered with the United Nations would have stayed home. They would have continued living within the culture that they understood intuitively, speaking languages they’d learned from birth.

They only left because conflict, famine and persecution made their lives so dangerous or intolerable that they could no longer stay.

The world is awash in displaced people — close to 43 million. Yet, fewer than one per cent of the UN-registered refugees are even given the chance of resettlement in countries like Canada. Unsurprisingly, it is only the most vulnerable who are chosen.

What is surprising is that Canada appears to have been taken a bit off guard by this.

“Overall, the needs of this population are higher than expected,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada noted in a January addendum to its Syrian refugee profile.

What hasn’t changed — at least not yet — is the amount of money that federal and provincial governments are channelling into their resettlement.

Some are old and frail like 104-year-old Amona Ali, who is living in a Surrey hotel with her family. Others are mentally or physically disabled.

There are widows and orphans, members of ethnic and religious minorities and gays, lesbians and transgender. Among them are people who have been tortured, raped, seen friends and family die and their homes destroyed. Close to three-quarters of those in Canada or coming to Canada will have no English or French language skills. The average adult will have had only six to nine years of schooling. Some are illiterate, unable to write in their mother tongue.

And there are lots of children. Nearly 60 per cent of the government-assisted refugees are 14 or younger. They arrive here, jet-lagged, disoriented and often having only recently heard the name of the city where they will put down their meagre possessions and potentially put down roots.

They’re relieved to be safe. But the reality is that their struggles have not ended.

We hand them winter coats, boots, a spot on the waiting list for ESL classes and then, too often, the government-assisted families are placed in crowded accommodation with barely enough money to feed themselves.

A year from now, the refugees who were so warmly welcomed will be set loose to fend for themselves when government and private sponsorship agreements end.

For many, that will mean going on welfare, even though research indicates that within five years, refugees do better in terms of income than some other immigrant groups.

For some, welfare will be the only paycheque they will ever get.

While there’s a common belief that refugees’ children integrate more easily, research suggests they might need even more support than adults.

Many have missed at least a year or two of schooling while they were in camps or countries where they weren’t eligible to attend school.

With both language and academic deficits, they’ll struggle, which makes them targets for bullies and gangs.

Added to their burden is that children often have to be their parents’ voices and guides because they more quickly pick up the language.

It’s worth noting that even before the recent intake of Syrian refugees, nearly three-quarters of refugee youth in Toronto were found to suffer from trauma and struggle with depression.

Youth mental health services are already under-funded and over-burdened. So where is the additional money for these increased and very specific needs?

Where is the additional money for more English classes and vocational training for adults?

Why has the money dried up for a program like Moving Ahead, which focuses intensive help on refugees still struggling after their first year?

While most of the Syrian refugees don’t have post-secondary education, all immigrants face the often-insurmountable barrier of having their credentials accepted. It’s time to find a solution to that.

The triumph is not bringing Syrian refugees to Canada. That will only be achieved when they are fully engaged citizens.